Love & Reason Keep Little Company (Freen x Becky)

Chapter 4

Friday morning, Becky rushed to the front door as Freen's Jeep pulled up outside.

With her toothbrush stuffed in her mouth, she waved the other girl inside. She'd overslept, having snoozed her alarm twice before finally dragging herself out of bed.

Her ankle still hurt and she'd slept poorly because of it the last two nights. She just hoped she'd have time for a nap after school before Nam's party, otherwise she'd be struggling to make it past nine o'clock. Not the best way to impress Freen.

"I'll be a minute, grab a drink or something, phi..."

She took off upstairs, leaving Freen alone in the kitchen. The older girl spotted Becky's travel mug on the counter. It was still empty.

Knowing the other girl struggled to function without her milk tea, Freen set about making a pot.

The kitchen Armstrong's owned was a beautiful and big, with a lot of shelf and cabinets. But not too hard for her to figure out where to find the tea, sugar and the milk.

Freen had a fresh pot of freshly milk tea ready before Becky even stepped foot downstairs.

She heard the younger girl still banging around upstairs and poured herself a cup before filling Becky's travel mug.

"Oh, hello..."

Freen jumped, almost dropping the pot and scolding herself in the process as a middle-aged woman appeared at the kitchen door.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." The woman rushed forward, grabbing a roll of paper towels to help mop up the spillage.

"It's fine, Khun." Freen insisted. She screwed the lid back on Becky's mug before wiping it dry with a paper towel. "I'm such a klutz."

"Hmm, my daughter is too." While Ann Armstrong didn't share an awful lot in common with her daughter, they had the same kind eyes and beautiful smile. "Speaking of, are you a friend of Becky's? Or just a skittish burglar?"

"I'm a... friend. Freen Sarocha." She answered, shaking Ann's hand politely.

She didn't know what Becky had told her Mama, or if she was even out to her and she didn't want to get the other girl in trouble.

"Freen? Oh yes, I'm sure Becky's mentioned you once or twice. I'm Ann."

Freen doubted that, but she didn't want to sound rude. She nodded, mirroring Ann's smile.

"Well it's lovely to meet you, Freen." Ann's smile faltered as she glanced at her watch. "Is Becky running late again? I swear that girl would be late for her own funeral... Ah, here she is now."

She chuckled as Becky came rushing into the kitchens, cheeks flushed and toothpaste at the corner of her mouth.

"Beck, you've got something right... there."

Freen reached up and brushed the errant toothpaste away with her thumb before Ann could mention it.

The older woman watched with a knowing smile as her daughter grew flustered and ducked her head, giving Freen a mumbled 'thanks'.

"Hey, Ma. Bye, Ma."

They were running late and Becky didn't want to hang around her home and watch her Mama try to make small talk with Freen, or even worse, interrogate her.

It had taken Becky months to convince her Mama that she and Irin were just friends after she came out to her parents last year.

Ann still made them keep the door open whenever Irin came over to study, even if Engfa was with them too.